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The General Assembly was in session this week, and is now in recess until Monday, May 22.
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Prohibition of assessment appeals on the legislative agenda... again
 Legislation has been introduced in the Senate and House of Representatives under nearly identical bills that prohibit assessment appeals.
This week the House Commerce Committee approved House Bill 1213 (Rep. Kampf, R-Chester). The Senate Urban Affairs Committee was scheduled to consider Senate Bill 586 (Sen. Argall, R-Schuylkill) but the meeting was cancelled.
The bills prohibit a taxing district from appealing an assessment based on the purchase or sale of a property, the financing or refinancing the property or following certain investments or improvements to the property. The bill only allows taxing districts to appeal an assessment following a countywide reassessment, when the parcel has been divided or when a change has occurred in the productive use of the property.
The bills also allow for a taxed person to request the dismissal of an appeal, and to appeal a reassessed value in certain circumstances. The taxing district seeking to increase the assessment has the burden to prove that the assessment does not violate the uniformity requirements of the state Constitution.
PSBA expressed deep concerns with the bills because they would greatly restrict the rights of school districts and municipalities to conduct appeals of under-assessed property. Click here to read PSBA's letter of concern.
Click here to read PSBA's Closer Look that addresses misconceptions regarding what assessment appeals are, what they are not, and why they can help taxpayers.
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Keep up the noise: Ask your school board to adopt charter reform resolutions
 Discussions continue in the Senate to determine if there is enough support to bring House Bill 97 (Rep. Reese, R-Westmoreland) forward for a vote. We need your continued help to convince your Senators that House Bill 97 is not real charter reform. The need is urgent, because if we don't act now and keep up the noise, House Bill 97 could be quickly positioned to become the state's new Charter School Law.
PSBA has drafted two sample charter reform resolutions for your board to complete and adopt. One is a statement in opposition to House Bill 97, the other is calling for reform of cyber charter school funding and includes space for your board to insert your district's cyber charter school expenditures for the past five years. Please ask your board to adopt these two resolutions. Send them to your legislators, share them with your community and the media, and send a copy to PSBA.
Resolution Opposing House Bill 97
Resolution Calling for Reform of Cyber Charter Funding
In addition, make a call, send an email or visit your senator and explain why House Bill 97 should not be approved. Click here to send a letter to your senator. This letter is editable, so if you have already sent it, please revise the text to include information about how the bill would impact your district. Ask your Senator to encourage leadership to work with PSBA and enact real reform.
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Assessments and graduation requirements: PSBA, PASA, Principals partner on members survey
 In preparation for legislative and administrative action to change Pennsylvania's system of assessments, including possible changes to high school graduation requirements, this week PSBA, the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators (PASA) and the Pennsylvania Principals Association emailed a survey to their members on these issues. The responses will help our collective advocacy efforts in guiding the development and consideration of state-level policy changes.
Thanks to those school board members who have already responded. For those who have not yet taken the survey, you will be receiving a reminder next week. The deadline to respond is May 25.
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Have a say in PSBA's Legislative Platform, submit your proposal by June 30
 Now is the time for your school board to submit proposals for consideration for PSBA's 2018 Legislative Platform. The platform is PSBA's official record of positions on legislative issues and guides the association's advocacy efforts. The deadline for school boards to submit items for consideration is Friday, June 30.
The PSBA Platform Committee will meet on Saturday, July 29, to consider items and draft the proposed 2018 platform. The PSBA Delegate Assembly will meet on Friday, Oct. 20, to vote on the proposed platform. Under PSBA's Bylaws, the Delegate Assembly will vote only on the proposed changes that have been considered first by the Platform Committee.
Want to know more?
Click here for guidelines and submission forms.
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| Latest News |
| On the Governor's Desk Passed by the House of Representatives Approved by the House Education Committee Approved by the House Local Government Committee Approved by the House Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee Approved by the Senate Rules & Executive Nominations Committee State News |
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On the Governor's Desk
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Administration of Epi-pens by school bus drivers and crossing guards
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This week the Senate passed House Bill 224 (Rep. Simmons, R-Lehigh), enabling the bill to be sent to Gov. Wolf for his signature. The bill applies the good Samaritan civil immunity to school bus drivers and school crossing guards who administer epi-pens to students, provided the school bus driver/crossing guard complies with policy and completes necessary training. The training program will be developed and implemented by the Department of Health. PSBA provided clarifying language that was added to the bill during drafting. The governor has until May 19 to take action on the bill.
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Passed by the House of Representatives
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Public pension forfeiture
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House Bill 939 (Rep. Petri, R-Bucks) amends the Public Employee Pension Forfeiture Act to require public employees and public officials, including school district employees, to forfeit their pension benefits and pay appropriate restitution when they are convicted or plead guilty or no defense to a crime related to public office or public employment, or any felony offense in addition to those crimes already listed under the current law. The bill requires pension administrators to hold money until the court determines no restitution is due. |
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Removing PSBA employees from PSERS
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House Bill 205 (Rep. Phillips-Hill, R-York) was voted from committee with a request to re-refer it to the House State Government Committee. The bill removes future employees of PSBA from being eligible for participation in the Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS).
PSBA requested this legislation and supports its passage. In 1939 the state Attorney General ruled that the association is an extension of local districts, and funded by them to provide services and advocacy on their behalf. Since that time, association employees are required to become members of PSERS at the current contribution rate upon hiring and PSBA is required to pay the ever-increasing employer contribution.
Despite this long history, PSBA believes it is important to lead pension reform efforts. The legislation would take effect immediately upon enactment and would apply to employees hired after that date.
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Approved by the House Education Committee
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Superintendent contracts
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Senate Bill 227 (Sen. Eichelberger, R-Blair) changes the deadline for school boards to make renewal decisions regarding superintendent and assistant superintendent contracts from 150 days to 90 days prior to the expiration to the contract. The bill also limits the automatic renewal of these contracts to one year if the renewal notice deadline is missed, rather than the full contract term as current law provides. PSBA supports this bill.
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Military recruiter access
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House Bill 524 (Rep. Tallman, R-Cumberland) revises current state law regarding military recruiter access by requiring access to "secondary students" which is defined as high school juniors as well as seniors. The school must notify 10th and 11th grade students (and parents of students under 18 years of age) of the requirement and allow such students to request exclusion from the list. The bill was amended to clarify that the legislation brings Pennsylvania into compliance with the provisions of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act.
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Supplemental online courses
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House Bill 679 (Rep. Ortitay, R-Allegheny) requires the PA Department of Education (PDE) to establish a central repository of online courses for students in grades 6-12 accessible to public schools, nonpublic schools, home education programs and the general public. The bill establishes a two-phase implementation schedule for the clearinghouse, which will first offer free courses related to the content tested by the Keystone Exams beginning with the 2018-19 school year. In the second phase, beginning in the 2019-20 school year, the clearinghouse will also offer approved online courses from providers, subject to purchase through contract. School entities that offer the courses must establish policies and procedures governing eligibility and participation.
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Teacher training for secondary transition services
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House Bill 1305 (Rep. Rapp, R- Warren) requires professional educators providing secondary transition services to special education students who are in grades 8-12 or are at least 14 years old to complete training within two months of assuming their duties. They will also be required to complete this training again every five years. Secondary transition is the process of preparing special education students for life after they leave high school, including participation in post-secondary education or training, employment, and community living. The requirements applicable beginning with the 2018-19 school year.
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Approved by the House Local Government Committee
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Optional property tax freeze for seniors
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House Bill 641 (Rep. Grove, R-York), allows political subdivisions to establish optional senior property tax freeze programs for residents ages 65 or older with a household income of less than $60,000 annually that have lived in the state for more than 5 years. The Department of Community and Economic Development will develop a standard application for political subdivisions to use, and eligible persons would have to refile an application each year. The department must collect information (with cooperation from a participating political subdivision) regarding participation compile an annual report of program performance. The program will expire Jan. 1, 2028.
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Approved by the House Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee
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National Guard Youth Challenge Program
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House Bill 824 (Rep. Saylor, R-York) requires the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to a National Guard Youth Challenge Program in Pennsylvania, a dropout recovery program that helps at-risk young people earn a high school diploma or its equivalent.
The National Guard established the National Guard Youth Challenge Program in 1933 to help young people who are struggling to complete an educational program in a traditional high school. The program currently operates in 27 states and in Puerto Rico.
Consistent with the requirements of federal law which authorizes the establishment of the program at the state level, the program consists of a residential program and a post-residential mentoring period. Participants must be Pennsylvania residents who are not currently attending secondary school and who neither have a felony conviction nor are on parole or probation. Participants must enter the program voluntarily, and are not charged a fee. The program will be funded in part by the state appropriation, with the remainder funded by federal funds and other gifts or donations.
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Approved by the Senate Rules & Executive Nominations Committee
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Economic impact of proposed regulations
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Senate Bill 561 (Sen. DiSanto, R-Dauphin) amends the Regulatory Review Act to require the General Assembly and the governor to approve all regulations proposed by a state agency (such as the State Board of Education) with an economic impact or cost to the state, political subdivisions (including school districts) or the private sector that exceed $1 million.
Under the bill, an agency's estimate of direct and indirect costs must be verified by the Independent Fiscal Office before regulations are submitted to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) for consideration. If IRRC issues an order to approve a proposed regulation that is economically significant (or if the agency decides to proceed with a regulation that IRRC disapproved), the agency must submit a copy of the order and, if applicable, the agency response, to the Senate and the House of Representatives and request a concurrent resolution approving the order. The House and Senate each would have 30 calendar days or 10 legislative days, whichever is longer, from the date on which the agency requested the concurrent resolution to adopt the concurrent resolution. If the General Assembly does not adopt the resolution in the time prescribed, the regulation is deemed not approved.
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State News
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Auditor General releases video on school district audit process
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This week Auditor General Eugene DePasquale released an informational video titled, "School Audits 101" to help school board members, administrators, taxpayers and reporters better understand how school audits work and what accountability the public should expect from school officials.
Topics in the 25-minute "School Audits 101" video include:
- How governance affects an entire educational institution
- Audit vocabulary
- How a performance audit works
- Common audit findings
- How to manage employment contracts and third-party vendors
- Resources to learn more about school governance
Each year, the Bureau of School Audits within the Department of the Auditor General audits about 200 school entities, including traditional public schools, vocational-technical schools, intermediate units, charter schools and cyber charter schools.
Click here to view the "School Audits 101" video.
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